Inside the Game: Examining UCLA's defensive touchdowns

Nicole Auerbach, USA TODAY Sports 1:55 p.m. EDT September 2, 2014

UCLA defensive back Ishmael Adams celebrated his second-quarter interception return for TD against Virginia, but little did he know he had started an immediate trend.(Photo: Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports)

Little more than a minute had passed in the second quarter of UCLA's scoreless season-opener against Virginia. Jefferson, a Bruins safety, turned to his teammates and said, "I'm calling a score."

On the very next play, Deon Hollins and Owa Odighizuwa powered a very effective UCLA pass rush. Odighizuwa fought past his man to reach Cavaliers quarterback Greyson Lambert, extending his right hand to smack Lambert's arm just as he released the ball. "It caused him to throw a bad ball," Odighizuwa said.

That bad ball wobbled a bit and ended up in the hands of UCLA cornerback Ishmael Adams, who ran it back 20 yards for a touchdown, the game's first points and important ones at that considering the then-stagnant Bruin offense.

"It was kind of unexpected even though Anthony called it," Odighizuwa said. "I didn't expect it to happen exactly that way. When it did, it was pretty cool.

"Our goal is to create turnovers. Once we got the first one, it definitely gave us momentum."

Said Adams: "We didn't know at what point the ball would be put in the end zone, so we put it on ourselves to start making plays and making it happen."

By the end of the second quarter, UCLA's defense had forced two more turnovers and scored two more touchdowns. The Bruins became the first FBS team since 2009 to score three defensive touchdowns in one quarter; they also were the first in a decade to score three in one half against a Power Five conference opponent.

"It was a great illustration of the synergy between every facet of our defense," UCLA defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. "It wasn't just our pass defense or just our rush defense. It was everybody working together."

So, how exactly did they do it?

The short answer is, they practiced it. Just not the way other teams practice it.

"We've found to be most effective is just emphasizing it in practice — during competitive reps," Ulbrich said. "A lot of times, when you just emphasize it during turnover circuits or isolated drill work stuff, it doesn't always carry over.

"We want them constantly just thinking about the ball. We think that's critically important. This is who we want to be as a defense."

During those reps against an offense expected to be among the nation's best, the defense focuses on forcing turnovers; the job of the second defender in on every tackle is to strip the ball. Every loose ball — be it a fumble or even just an incomplete pass — is snatched up and returned to the end zone. Interceptions are, too.

"Even if the whistle is blown, we pick it up and go with it," safety Randall Goforth said. "It's just muscle memory that we've created around here."

So when Goforth saw a loose ball squirt out from under Virginia wide receiver Kyle Dockins and a pair of Bruins late in the second quarter, he did what he does so often in practice: He scooped and scored. Goforth's 75-yard fumble return put the Bruins up 14-3.

UCLA inside linebacker Eric Kendricks (6) doesn't touch the ball often, but he made the most of an opportunity Saturday by returning an interception 37 yards for a touchdown.(Photo: Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports)

"He just did that naturally," linebacker Eric Kendricks said. "He didn't hear the whistle so he just kept going. Everybody else kind of stopped."

About a minute later, Kendricks joined the fun.

"I was guarding the running back, and I saw him burst out of the backfield real quick, so I got on his hip," Kendricks said. "I knew we had a great pass rush, and I trust the guys behind me, so I played it very aggressively."

Kendricks picked off Lambert's pass and ran it back 37 yards for the score, putting UCLA up 21-3 with 1:20 left until halftime.

"The score, I think, is secondary," Ulbrich said. "Stealing the possession is what we emphasize. We understand (turnover ratio) is the most telling statistic in football affecting wins and losses, so it's something we talk about daily. "We don't call them turnovers, we call them steals because we're committed to taking the ball from the offense."

Randall Goforth (3) gave UCLA its second defensive touchdown of the game by recovering a fumble and returning it 75 yards on this play.(Photo: Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports)

Ulbrich said the Bruins aim for three steals per game, in addition to winning the turnover battle. Last season, UCLA ranked 19th in the nation in turnover margin, leading to a 9-3 regular-season record and a Sun Bowl win against Virginia Tech. Now, the seventh-ranked Bruins face loftier expectations as they aim to contend for a spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff.

To do so, they'll need their offense to play better than it did against Virginia, and they'll need quarterback Brett Hundley to look like the Heisman Trophy hopeful many figure he'll be.

They'll also need their defense to do more of what it did Saturday. Those on the field know that, and are embracing it.

"We want to be known as one of the best defenses in the nation," Goforth said.